Publications

Electricity

Economic regulation of the electricity distribution industry is two-fold:

A price-quality path that caps the prices Powerco can charge and provides a minimum level of reliability of electricity

An annual information disclosure regime

Price and Service Levels

From 2004-2010, distribution prices were regulated by a threshold set by the Commerce Commission. In 2010, this was replaced by the Default Price-Quality Path (DPP). Under the DPP, Powerco can only increase its prices each year by CPI, with an adjustment for a limited number of costs that can be passed through to electricity customers.

Powerco must also meet two reliability targets - SAIDI and SAIFI. SAIDI measures how many minutes any consumer on the Powerco network, on average, is without electricity supply during the year. Powerco’s target is 210 minutes. SAIFI measures how often an average consumer will experience electricity interruptions during the year. Powerco’s target is 2.5.

Information Disclosure – Financial and Technical

Financial, technical and pricing information is published annually under the Commerce Commission’s electricity information disclosure requirements. Disclosures for the last seven years are on this website.

Asset Management Plans

Powerco publishes a detailed ten-year asset management plan (AMP) that provides information on how Powerco intends to manage its assets to meet consumer demands. Part of our immediate planning requires analysis of areas where more investment is needed to improve reliability. This analysis is provided here.

Non-standard Contract Disclosure

Each year, Powerco discloses both the new non-standard contracts it has entered into for the provision of electricity lines services, and existing non-standard contracts where the prescribed terms and conditions have been modified during the period.

A contract is considered non-standard if:

(a) The price at which the electricity line services are to be provided is not determined solely by reference to a schedule of prescribed terms and conditions that is publicly disclosed; and

Electricity Contribution Guide

If your home or business connects, or wants to connect, to Powerco’s electricity distribution network, we may require you to contribute to some costs towards the design and installation of the electricity assets. This payment is called a capital contribution or a customer contribution. This guide outlines when you may be required to contribute, the process that is followed and how the amount is calculated.